


staring out at the midnight sea

by blackwoodhart



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Underage Drinking, Underage Drug Use, brief sarah/kie, everyone has a crush on everyone (but only kinda), everyone/everyone because thats how it is, give jj the world 2k20, songfic??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:48:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26580103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackwoodhart/pseuds/blackwoodhart
Summary: When Kiara had made her bucket list in the eighth grade, one of her points had been moving out of St Louis. She never meant in the middle of high school.orKiara joins the Pogues in their junior year and they stumble across a serious fortune.orwhat if Kie was new in town and Ward didn't try straight up murder the Pogues for the gold.
Relationships: JJ/Kiara (Outer Banks)
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

When Kiara had made her bucket list in the eighth grade, one of her points had been moving out of St Louis. She never meant in the middle of high school.

Looking out through the fog-covered window of the overnight bus, Kiara felt the weather matched her mood quite aptly, The sky outside the bus was a murky grey and rain beat down against her window.

Her parents had gone ahead without her a week prior, letting Kiara spend the week at her best friend Jenna’s. Neither of the girls had stopped crying the entire evening as Jen had dropped her at St Louis station, and now Kiara was alone on her way to her new future.

The Outer Banks. The small coastal island was a bus ride and a ferry trip away from home, boasting summer houses and surfers paradise. It was everything her parents could have dreamed of when they’d bought the site for their new restaurant. The island promised booming business every summer and local trade during the off-season. What more did they need?

There were only ten minutes left of her trip before she would be getting off the train and onto the platform in a town she didn’t know.

Both of Kiara’s parents had grown up in the Outer Banks, moving away when Anna became pregnant. Three months ago her parents had gone on a ‘business trip’ to outer Banks, Kiara, blissfully unaware of the meaning behind their trip back home, had thrown one of the biggest parties St Louis had seen in years. It was still talked about to this day. Did they have parties in the Outer Banks?

Stepping out onto the station, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle and Kiara pulled her coat further around her. The people at the station moved slowly, feet dragging as they made their way through the dreary day.

“Excuse me!” Kiara called to the man working the ticket sales. “Hi, hello, sorry, I need to get to the ferry. Do you know where that is?”

The man looked like he’d been working behind the desk for his whole life. She wouldn’t have been surprised if there were cobwebs gathering around his ankles. 

“The ferry? You off to Outer Banks?” He asked her, taking her ticket to look at what her mother had scrawled on the back of it before they’d left.

“Ah, you are. Well, you’re in luck, there’s one leaving in five minutes from the docks.”

“Great!,” Kiara took the ticket back from him, “the docks are?”

“Two blocks down on the right, you can’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” Kiara called over her shoulder, already hurrying down through the station towards the stairs. She flew out onto the street and took a sharp right, adjusting the strap on her bag as she went.

The docks, as the man said, were hard to miss. There was a steady stream of people making their way off the boardwalk, out onto the street and a few were walking down towards a modest-sized boat.

She jogged down the jetty, bringing herself to a stop in front of the walkway to the boat.

“You looking to go to the Outer Banks, miss?” The boy in front of her couldn’t have been any older than her, with dark skin and a cap keeping the rain from his eyes.

“Yes, I am! Have I got the right place?” Kiara was still slightly panicked from her rush and if she was in the wrong place the notice board out the front had informed her there were only three trips from the mainland a day, so her chances of getting across were narrowed.

“Very much so, I’m Pope,” he stretched out his hand for her to take as he helped her onto the ferry. Kie felt his gesture was very formal, considering he was in the rattiest pair of jeans she’d ever seen and a shirt that had holes in the shoulder.

“My dad helps run the ferries from the mainland, you coming for a trip?”

“Thank you,” Kiara released his hand and followed him into the sitting area on the inside, which was warm compared to the cold wind from the dock, “I just moved here actually. I’m Kiara, but everyone back home calls me Kie.”

Pope took the seat next to her as the ferry took off, stretching his legs out in front of him.

“Well, Kie, I’m sure the Outer Banks will be glad to have you.”

She laughed lightly and put her bag on the ground with a thud, rubbing at her shoulder.

“No, really,” Pope continued, looking at her in earnest, “I don’t think anyone’s moved here in like, what? Eight years?”

Eight years?

“Everyone around here must be very familiar with each other then?” Kie commented, not wanting to give him the cold shoulder despite the way hers ached.

“Very,” he said, followed by a low chuckle, “don’t worry though. You’ll meet everyone soon enough.”

The trip over to the island didn’t take long and Kiara chatted away with Pope the whole time. He was very interested in St Louis and the life she was leaving behind. She told him short anecdotes of her last week to pass the time.

The rain hadn’t reached the island and Kiara was relieved to find dry ground when she stepped off the ferry, Pope close behind.

“Here,” Pope’s phone was stretched out to her and she took it gratefully, “put your number in and I’ll call you tomorrow? You can come and meet my friends, sounds like you get along well with guys?’

“Most of my friends back home were guys, much easier to get along with than girls. They aren’t the bitch pack, you know?”

It appeared Pope did indeed know.

“Well, I’ll see you around, Kie!” And then he was making his way off down the wharf and kicking up the stand of an old dirt bike, skidding out of the parking lot towards the near side of the island.

Mike and Anna were waiting at the end of the wharf, car running next to them as Kiara raced up to meet them.

The drive home took them through what Mike called The Cut, a suburb of run-down houses with weatherbeaten boards and people milling around outside. They all had hardened features, like they’d come from years in the sun, and Mike called out the window a few times to wave to someone he knew.

Their new house was a part of a place called Figure Eight, the district that made up the wealthier side of the island. While Kiara hadn’t lived the way the people of the Cut had, she certainly wasn’t used to the level of money residing in Figure Eight. The lawns were all freshly manicured and the people outside the houses were dressed in clothes that looked fresh from the dry cleaner. They all were getting into BMWs and chatting to one over white picket fences. Kiara hated it.

A true anti-capitalist at heart, Kiara had never sat by idly when her parent’s business had strayed too far from ethical.

Her new room was huge, with sweeping white walls and high ceilings. Big wide windows gave her a view of the tree line, high about the rest of the island, from her second story. There was an old oak that shaded her balcony. It was beautiful.

The night was cold and damp. The rain that had been on mainland settled in hiring the late afternoon as Kiara was setting up her room. She’d FaceTimed Jen and told her all about the trip and the boy from the ferry, who Jen insisted had to become one of Kie’s friends. She was still on the phone when the rain quietened down. Stepping out onto the balcony, Kie produced a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket and brought one to her mouth.

“This seriously sucks, Jen. I wanna go home!”

A laugh crackled from her phone as she sparked her lighter.

“Don’t stress it too much already, Kie. You've been there for like a few hours, okay? It was never going to be like St Louis, but who’s to say it won’t be better?”

A breath of smoke clouded from Kiara’s mouth and she watched it disappear into the night sky.

“Not much so far.”

The next morning was bright.

Rolling over, Kiara was blinded by the light coming through the French doors that opened onto her patio. She mentally scolded herself for not closing the curtains when she came back in last night.

Reaching across, she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and checked the time. Underneath the big bold 10:27 was a missed call from an unknown number, below that was a voicemail message.

She clicked her voicemail and let it open into her new messages.

_You have one new message. Message received today at 9:42 AM._

_Hey, Kie from St Louis, its Pope. Well, not really, its John B using Pope’s phone. He told us all about you and we were wondering if you’d want to come out on the boat with us today? Give Pope a call and he’ll give you my address! Hope to see you soon!_

_You have no new messa-_

Kiara immediately called Pope back and he picked up after a few rings.

“Shut up JJ, no I said shut it! Hey Kiara!”

“Hey, Pope! Its Kie, remember?”

“Yeah, sorry, won’t forget it.”

“All good. Were you guys going out on a boat?”

“Yeah, John B’s. Offer still stands!”

“Can you send me his address?”

“Yes ma’am”

“Great, I should be there soon if that’s okay?”

“Won’t leave without you!”

After a long shower, Kiara bounded down the twisting staircase and found her parents standing in the kitchen, staring down at papers scattered across the large island counter.

“Hey mum, dad, I met some guys yesterday and they’ve offered to take me out on their boat! Is that okay?”

They looked up at her and smiled.

“Of course, sweetie!” her mum said gently, “did you get any last names?”

“Heyward. The boy I mets name was Pope Heyward.”

Her dad clapped his hands and made his way around the bench to her.

“Heyward!,’ he boomed, “good man. Great man. Tell this Pope to tell his father that Mike C says hello!”

He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek before turning her towards the door.

“Now get out! Go make friends!” He gave her a shove.

“And be safe!” Her mother’s voice called as Kiara shut the front door behind her.

The address Pope had sent through directed Kie back to the Cut. It wasn’t a long drive, but it took some adjusting to as the roads changed from smooth to filled with potholes. A clear marker of the socio-economic divide.

The Chateau, as Pope had called it, was nothing much more than a weatherboard house near the marsh. There was a great tree in the yard with a hammock stretched between it and another trunk, the dirt bike Pope had driven off on was in the driveway next to another which was slightly more beaten up. As Kie pulled in to the gravel driveway she watched as the front door clanged open and a boy with floppy brown hair tumbled through it.

“Kiara from St Louis!,” he called as she slammed her door behind her.

“Kie!,” she called in reply, making her way towards the steps where he waited, “please, call me Kie.”

“Yes ma’am!” He mocked standing to attention, extending his spare hand as she reached him.

A noise came from behind the boy who’s voice she now recognised as John B. The sofa on the front porch was occupied. A boy with a shock of messy blonde hair was now sitting up, rubbing his eyes with a great deal of grumbling.

“Okay, I was having a great dream about this tree that grew money and- ooh shit she’s here.”

The boy gave her a lopsided grin and leapt up to join the two. Kie couldn't help noticing he didn't have a shirt on.

“Hope my boy here hasn’t been boring you?” The blonde said with a cheeky smile.

John B elbowed the boy and laughed, “that’s JJ.”

“That's me!,” said JJ, “and I was promised a day on the Pogue with food and beer and a- POPE GET OUT HERE!” The last part was hollered at the screen door, which was promptly shouldered open by Pope, who was carrying an esky in one hand and a bag full of food in the other.

“And as promised, I deliver. Hey Kie!”

The boys lead her down to a jetty at the back of the Chateau. Next to it was a small boat with the words _HMS Pogue_ written on the side in duct tape.

“A true beauty, isn’t she?” JJ slid past her and jumped down into the Pogue, managing to stay stable despite the precarious rocking his landing caused. He offered her his hand, which she gladly accepted, and soon after the other two boys followed.

“ _HMS Pogue?”_ Kiara questioned, leaning over the side to check the duct tape again.

“Pogues are people like us,” came John B’s voice from behind her, “people from the Cut. People from Figure Eight are called Kooks. You’ll learn about all that soon enough.”

The marsh was a wide expanse of reeds that were apparently good for fishing, because as soon as John B weighed anchor, the three boys set about throwing lines in the water.

“Here,” Pope came up to her side and handed her a coil of fishing line with a hook tied to the end, “I’ll teach you if you don’t know how.”

Pope showed her how to hold the line as to not lose it (she nearly did twice) and stood behind her as she cast it. His hand rested on her forearm, guiding it as she tossed her line out.

“Good job!” He commented, watching as the wire flew out into the water, “now just tie it to here’. They decided quickly that tying the line to the side of the boat would become an issue when they needed the wire again, so instead, he set a drink bottle on top of the coil.

JJ had produced beers from the esky and handed them around. Kie wasn’t sure about drinking when she knew she had to drive home but JJ piped up when she voiced her concerns.

“I’m the best driver here!,” this statement caused John B to snort loudly, which earned him a pointed glare from JJ, “! I’ll drive you and your car back if you want. Trust me, you’d rather it be me than John B.”

John B looked scorned.

The day bled on and soon the hottest part of the day was past them. Fish were caught and beers consumed and the boys decided to return to the Chateau to show Kiara around John B’s.

As John B guided the Pogue back through the marsh, Kiara turned to JJ with a curious smile.

“Why JJ?”

“Huh?”, JJ looked up at her, drawing his attention from the mark on his shoe that he’d been working at for the past five minutes, to no avail.

“JJ. Why are you called JJ?” Kie pushed, it was an unusual nickname which could only mean an unusual first name.

“Because my real name is dull,” was his reply said with the same boyish grin that seemed to never slip from his face.

“I bet your real name is something gauche, like Johnathan James.”

JJ’s cheeks turned pink.

“Lucky for you, I don’t know what that word means!” and then he returned to rubbing at the toe of his shoe.

The inside of the Chateau was surprisingly clean, considering it was currently inhabited by one lone teenage boy. John B had divulged the incident of his father’s disappearance to Kie, who listened with rapt attention as John B theorised the meaning behind it.

“I think he got himself caught up in something dodgy, something someone else needed him to stay quiet about,” John B had said with a dark glint in his eye.

JJ had taken a swig from his beer and begun to tap a rhythm on the glass.

“Yeah buddy,” he said to his friend, “or he pulled a Tyra Maybank and dipped.”

It turned out that JJ was the second non-official inhabitant of the Chateau. His mother, Tyra, had left when he was quite young and JJ’s dad was pretty absent, leaving JJ to his own devices most of the time. He didn’t get into the details. He’d chosen to take up Big John’s old bedroom a few months prior and, after taking a quick glance in, Kiara could get a good gauge on just who the boy with the mystery name might be. There were surf magazine posters plastered across the walls, a board propped up in the corner. Clothes were spilled out of the dresser and onto the floor and the bed wasn’t made.

John B’s room was quite different. Where JJ’s room was clearly that of a 17 year old boy, John B’s seemed a little more put together. His clothes weren’t put away but rather folded in a neat pile at the end of his bed, which was messily made. There were framed photos up on hooks and a collection of bright shirts hanging in the wardrobe. Pope scoffed when Kiara mentioned the contrast between the two rooms.

“They manage to make mine look as clean as a hospital, and my mum gets me in trouble for how dirty it is!,” he laughed, “I think if she came and saw JJ’s room she’d faint”.

The Pogues, as they called themselves, had a lot of laughs. JJ was clearly the happy go lucky member of the trio, with his never-serious attitude and constant grin, he was hard to be annoyed at. Pope was the brains, often rolling his eyes at something JJ said that really shouldn’t have crossed someone their age’s mind. John B walked the fine line between the pair. He was almost as clever as Pope, admitting to being the mastermind behind some of the trio’s best pranks which they were apparently notorious for, while also managing to remain just above JJ level childish.

When Kiara’s phone started to ping more frequently than usual, she decided maybe it was time to head home.

“You good to drive?” JJ asked from his spot on the pullout couch in John B’s lounge room.

Kie considered it for a second.

“I’d rather not if you’re sober.”

JJ rose and snatched the keys from her hand, far from rudely, spinning them between his fingers.  
“I’m as good as!”

Saying goodbye to the other two boys proved hard and Kie realised she’d grown fond of them over the past few hours.

“You never told us, what’s your last name Kie?” Pope asked as he stepped back from their hug.

“Carrera.”

Pope’s jaw dropped.

“No way! You’re not Mike’s kid are you?”

Kiara’s eyebrow quirked, they must be close families to be on a first name basis.

“Yeah, I am. He said to say hello to your dad actually.”

“He’s gonna be so excited to hear from Mr C, they go way back,” he turned away to text someone, presumably his dad, and waved Kiara off as she walked out the door.

“Where to madam?” JJ asked from the driver’s seat. He had amused himself as he’d sat, commenting on Kie’s height as he adjusted the seat backwards.

“Meadows Street, good sir.”

JJ’s head turned quickly and he stopped reversing sharply.

“Meadows?”

“Yeah?,” Kie found herself nervous, then again, maybe he had an ex on that street or something, “is something bad about my street?”

“No! No,” he shook his head as they turned off John B’s street, “just didn’t think you were a Kook, that’s all.”

Oh.

“If they’re as bad as you make them out to be, then I’m glad.”

That seemed to ease the tension in JJ’s shoulders and he took the next turn more gently than the one before.

“Is it bad to be a Kook?,” her voice sounded small and Kie regretted how childish she sounded.

“Yeah,” when he glanced at the worried look on her face he stumbled over his words trying to correct his mistake.

“I mean, not really, but most of them like to be the Haves, and they love to rub it in the face of the Have Nots, it gets pretty bad.”

“Well, JJ,” a small smile crept onto Kie’s face as she watched him drive, “I promise to treat you as a Have as long as you treat me like a Have Not!”

That got a laugh out of him and he turned the radio up slightly, nodding his head along to the song she had queued,

JJ looked peaceful driving. All the nervous energy he usually focused into his mundane things, like tapping beats onto anything that didn’t move or fidgeting with his rings, slipped away as he made smooth turns and carefully navigated the potholes of the Cut. He hadn’t been kidding when he said he was the best driver.

“Thank you,” JJ’s voice cut through Kie’s thoughts.

“What?”

“For saying I am in fact a good driver.”

Kie closed her eyes and leant her head back against the headrest, cringing internally.

“Didn’t realise that was out loud.”

He smiled at her as they passed the first row of bright green lawns.

“You sure you don’t want me to get you a taxi back?” Kiara was standing in her driveway as JJ pulled the jacket from around his waist up onto his shoulders.

“Nah, I could do with a walk,” the grin was there again, “thank you though!”

“No stress,” Kie turned to make her way up her front steps, “goodnight, JJ!,” she called after his retreating figure.

“GoodnightKiara!,” he waved from the end of her driveway.

“Its Kie, JJ.”

“I know, Kiara!,” and with that, he was gone, whistling as he made his way back down her block.

“Who was that honey?” Anna called from the kitchen.

Tossing her keys into the bowl by the front door and hanging her jacket on the hook next to it, Kie made her way into the kitchen. Her parents had migrated to the dining table, which was covered by stacks of folders.

“That was JJ, one of Pope’s friends,” she went to the sink for a glass of water, “Pope said to say hello, dad.”

Mike smiled at her briefly before turning back to his folder.

“This JJ got a last name?” he asked, picking up another folder and taking a glance along the table to find one similar.

“Maybank.”

The folder slipped from his hand and hit the table with a thud. Anna looked up slowly from her own folder, blinking.

“Did you say Maybank?” Mike asked, reaching to pick the folder back up, “like Tyra’s boy?”

“Makes sense,” said Anna, still staring at Kiara, “he would be Kiara’s age.”

Kie stared back at her parents, lost.

“Should I be concerned? Those weren’t good reactions guys.” Their concern was uncharacteristic to say the least. Her parents had never cared about who she hung out with before, much less who their parents were, as long as Kie was safe and happy.

Anna’s eyebrows rose and she laughed darkly.

“Just be careful, that’s all.”


	2. two

Monday rolled around two days later, bringing with it a bright sunny day.

School started late in Outer Banks, with first period beginning at 9:30, so Kie took a bit of extra time to get ready.

Her focus remained on what JJ had said about the Kooks. After a long series of arguments with her parents, they had relented their ideals of Kiara attending the Academy, the prestigious private school in Figure Eight. She was starting, instead, at Kildare High, on the Cut. Kiara remembered the way JJ had reacted when he’d found out she lived in Figure Eight as she pulled out a pair of jeans, deciding against wearing anything to fancy. There was no point in dressing like a Kook if the reaction she got would be negative, even hostile.

The parking lot was small, littered with junkers that didn’t look like they would run properly on a good day.

 _Great._ She thought to herself as she walked up to the main entrance _, Already one thing setting her on the wrong side of the tracks._

The principal, Mr Lee, was a short, charming man whose shoes of choice were boat shoes. Right. That’s the vibe here.

He showed her through the halls, which were now empty of students, pointing out the cafeteria and the gym, before taking her to first period English.

“Miss Ellis,” Mr Lee called as they stepping into a classroom, “this is our new student, Kiara,” he turned back to Kiara, “I’ll leave you in her capable hands.” And with that, he was gone.

Miss Ellis was a kind looking woman with long dark hair and a sweet smile, she couldn’t have been older than thirty and she stepped around her desk to speak to Kie.

“Lovely to meet you, Kiara,” she turned to face the class, who’s eyes were all locked onto the Kiara. Fresh meat.

“Class, we clearly have a new student,” she waved Kie forward, “could you tell us a little about yourself?”

“Uhh, sure,” Kie pulled her backpack higher on her shoulder and looked around the room, there in the back right corner by the window, was a shock of blonde hair and a grin. She felt some of the tension in her stomach release as she recognised a familiar face, “I’m Kiara, I just moved from St Louis, I actually really like English and I want to go into environmental science when I graduate.”

Miss Ellis clapped her hands together and a few students jumped in their seats.

“Lovely! Well, it seems there’s a free seat next to JJ,” she pointed to where JJ sat in the back, grinning.

Kie walked between the rows of seats.

Upon her approach, JJ slapped the seat next to him.

“Kie! Good to see you again,” heads turned their way and a few students shot each other curious glances. Kie couldn’t help but smile at his antics, nothing less from JJ.

“Good to see you too, JJ,” she slipped into her seat and turned back to the board. JJ was still staring at her as Miss Ellis wrote their new subject on the chalkboard.

“Thank god you’re here honestly,” JJ said in earnest, “this units a doozy, Miss said we’re doing-“

“GATSBY!,” Miss Ellis spun from the blackboard and smiled at the class, “this is one of my favourites. Kiara, have you done this book before?”

“I thought it was a movie,” mumbled JJ, returning the fiddle with the pen on his desk.

“It was a book first,” Kie said, rolling her eyes, “yes I have Miss. Actually it's one of my favourites too.”

“Suck up,” JJ coughed, earring a thwack on the arm from Kiara.

The lesson progressed slowly, kids heads lolling where they rested on their hands and Kiara soon realised she’d been put in the dregs class. No problem with that, probably good for her grades if anything.

“Gatsby,” Miss Ellis said, leaning on her desk, “was a man so driven, so determined, to have the life he chose for himself, the girl he loved, that he drives himself mad with it. You’ll be writing papers for this assignment,” a chorus of groans sounded around the room, accompanied with the sound of JJ’s head dropping to the table with a loud thud, “I know, I know, but I promise to do everything I can to make it easy for you all. I’ll push for a broad subject range, does that sound okay?”

The class was clearly less than enthusiastic about the subject, but Kiara watched as students nodded and smiled at Miss Ellis. She clearly held some esteem with this class and Kiara found herself smiling too.

The bell sounded twenty minutes later and everyone packed their things hastily.

“Kiara, JJ, would you mind staying back a minute?” Miss Ellis called over the sound of scraping chairs and chatter.

“Yes ma’am,” JJ replied, “I have maths next, and now I have an excuse not to go.”

“You’re quite right,” she continued as they walked up to her desk, “Kiara, what do you have next?”

Kie consulted the timetable she had folded in her pocket.

“Free period.”

“Fantastic,” Miss Ellis clapped her hands.

“JJ, you’re aware of your grades in my class?”

JJ turned his attention to a spot on the ceiling.

“You mean my lack of grades?” he said, still not looking at his teacher, “yeah, pretty aware.”

“Good to hear,” she turned to Kiara with a smile, “Kiara here was top of her last class, weren’t you?”

Kiara turned scarlet and looked down at the floor. JJ’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at Miss Ellis.

“You’re suggesting what? She tutors me?” He asked his cheeks now the same colour as Kiara’s.

“Very much so,” Miss Ellis looked quite serious for a change, “and I have good offers for both of you.”

JJ perked up at that and Kiara lifted her gaze from the smudge on her shoe.

“Kiara, I can get you extra credit as a tutor, and JJ, I can get you out of every second maths lesson for the rest of the year.”

JJ turned, wide eyed, to Kiara and grinned before turning back to his teacher.

“Deal.”

The library was empty for the most part as JJ lead Kiara in. Only a few of the seniors lingering closer to the front heads buried in books and scribbling away furiously.

“Back here,” he said, settling them at some seats near the back, “I don’t expect you to do this you know?”

Kiara shook her head.

“No, I want to. If I can help you pass then I will, its not charity work.”

A small while passed as they both read the first chapter of the book. Kiara was planning on taking this seriously and was thankful for her personal copy, full of annotations.

After the first fifteen minutes had passed, she glanced up a JJ, who’s page hadn’t turned in at least ten. She’d half expected to see him staring out the window or texting on his phone, but he was staring down at the book, head resting on his fists, his eyebrows were knitted together and a frown had replaced his usual smile. His leg was bouncing furiously under the table and kept knocking into hers, each time this happened he would mumble a ‘sorry’, never looking up.

She sat and watched him for a few more minutes, watching his eyes follow the same lines over and over before finally speaking up.

“Are you dyslexic, JJ?”

He looked up at her with a confused look in his eyes.

“What’s that?”

Kiara was taken aback. Was he playing dumb? Maybe he simply didn’t know.

“Its a reading disability,” she began, treading carefully as to not offend him, “it means the words and letters jumble up and it makes it hard to read. Does that make sense?”

JJ nodded, looking back at the page and running his eyes along the sentence he’d been trying to decipher for the past few minutes.

“That makes sense. Is it bad?” He sounded genuinely worried like the thought had never crossed his mind.

Kiara thought for a second, forming her response.

“No. I mean, it can be hard to deal with, but it's not inherently bad.”

This seemed to relieve JJ a good deal and he returned to his book.

“It correlates with your ADHD a good bit,” she continued, curious more than anything.

JJ chuckled and leant back in his chair.

“Pope always says I have that, I don’t doubt it either. Never got tested though.” He said the last part quieter. Kiara got the feeling this side of JJ was one he didn’t show that often.

“How come?”

“Old man can't be bothered,” was his response, he was quiet for a beat before slamming his book shut and shooting up from his chair, “come on, we’re going for a smoke break.”

JJ led her to the sport behind the gym, under the bleachers, as cliche as it seemed. He settled on an old milk crate that someone had put there and opened a pack of cigarettes, tilting the carton towards her.

“All good,” she said, producing her own pack.

He smiled at her.

“Didn’t think you were a smoker, Kie. You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” His tone was light and Kiara felt his ease infecting her. There was something calming about him, despite the way he never seemed to slow down himself. Even now, as they sat under the bleachers, he was snapping his lighter open and shut over and over. It was a silver zippo, with his nickname engraved in the side. There were dots between the two Js.

“Okay, that proves it,” Kie said, sparking her own lighter and inhaling deeply, “what’s JJ stand for?”

He flipped the lighter around to look at the engraving. His smirk was infectious too.

“Still a secret.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a while, listening to the sound of birds and the PE class doing laps on the far oval.

Kie was sat in the grass, legs crossed, going over her timetable, trying to work out where her next three classes would be.

“What have you got next?,” JJ asked, joining her in the grass and taking her timetable from her hands, “ooh! Earth and environmental in 3B! Gross.”

“Hey!,” Kie protested, reaching for the paper which JJ held above his head, out of reach. He had his arm out, blocking her from making any real grounds for attack and she laughed, tugging at his arm.

“No! I wanna see what else we have together,” he was still scanning along her timetable, making comments about different classes.

“Okay, so you’ll have E&E with Pope, and bio too. Timber with John B and I, and you have food tech with Sarah, you’ll meet Sarah, John B’s hopelessly in love with her its quite disgusting actually. I think she’s in your E&E and bio as well, actually,” he handed the planner back to her with a grin, “and gym and music with me!”

“Really?” she looked along the lessons for today, checking for any of the classes he’d mentioned. E&E, bio and food tech were her classes for the day.

“Gotta get the energy out somewhere, don’t I? What do you play?”

“I sing, mostly, play guitar and ukulele sometimes.”

“Well,” JJ stood, brushing the grass off his jeans, “you’ll have to show me tomorrow. Come on, we have a break in five.” He offered her his hand, which she took to stand, and walked back towards the cafeteria. As they made it to the seat JJ claimed as the Pogues usual table, the bell rang out over the loudspeaker and students poured in. John B reached them first, clapping JJ up the back of the head.

“Where the hell were you? Murphy handed my ass to me in maths! Oh, hey Kie,” John B settled down on the other side of JJ, shooting her smile.

“Sorry man,” JJ replied, “was busy showing Kie the smoke spot,” he was grinning as he said it, knowing John B wouldn’t consider this a valid excuse.

“I will kick your ass six ways from Sunday, JJ!,” John B was still annoyed at his friend, but smiling nonetheless.

“Don’t count on it, Kie here is tutoring me every second lesson now,” JJ grinned, “leaving you to bear the brunt of Murphy’s madness”.

“Who’s copping a load of Mad Murphy?,” Pope said as he sat down next to John B, “hey Kie!”

She smiled back at Pope, who was waving at someone who had just entered the cafeteria.

She had long blonde hair and a brilliant smile. Heads turned as she walked towards the boys. The girl carried herself like someone who had always been in the public eye, like Kiara carried herself.

“Hey!,” the girl sat down next to the spot by Kiara, turning to face the new girl, “I’m Sarah, I’ve heard so much about you!”

Her voice was bubbly and bright, Kie noticed she smelt like jasmine as Sarah wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Kie,” she replied, “its good to meet you, JJ said we have some classes together, actually.”

Sarah perked up at that.

“Can I see your timetable?”

She scanned in silence, humming to herself a few times before handing the paper back to Kie.

“Food tech, E&E and bio together,” she said, “oh! And homeroom!”

“Told you!,” said JJ, pointing his spoon at Kiara, “hey Sar”.

“Hey, J!,” Sarah smiled, “John B said he was gonna kick your ass, has he yet? You look fine to me”.

“Thank you, Sarah,” JJ said, faking bitterness, “always good to know I look as average as usual”.

“Shut up,” she laughed, leaning across Kiara to slap his arm gently.

Kiara watched John B quietly. He hadn’t spoken yet since Sarah had sat with them, choosing to stare furiously at his phone instead.

The rest of Kiara’s classes passed uneventfully, being partnered with Pope in bio and spending lunch at the same table as last break. When the bell went for last period, Sarah stood and held out her hand to Kie.

“Come on,” she said, “let's go cook!”

“Please, Sarah, for the love of God, bring some to the Chateau,” called JJ from where he still sat at the table with the two other boys.

“No promises,” Sarah replied, winking over her shoulder.

The two girls walked to class, still hand in hand. Kie couldn’t help notice the way _everyone_ stopped to watch Sarah go past.

“Hey, Sarah?,” Kie asked tentatively, “are you like, famous?”

Sarah hummed in response, a light giggle following it.

“Well, not exactly. I’m a Cameron.”

“Holy shit!,” Kiara exclaimed, “like Cameron Estate? Like Ward Cameron?”

Sarah laughed again as they turned into the food tech room.

“Yeah, Cameron Estate. One and the same.”

Cameron Estate was one of many things to Kiara.

On one side of her internal spectrum, the Estate was one of the biggest corporations on this side of America. They were a huge real estate company, known for being the ones who sold and made sales to every big name you could think of. On the other side, they were the company that built Figure Eight, not inexpensively, and not without severe repercussions on the environment around Outer Banks. Kiara had done her research the night before.

“Please,” Sarah said, turning to face her as they settled behind one of the counters, “don’t think of me any different. It took the boys forever to not think of me as a Kook and its hard enough when I go to a school on the Cut.”

There was something sad in Sarah’s voice as she set about collecting ingredients for today's recipe; chocolate cake.

“Is there a reason you go here instead of the Academy?,” Kie asked, digging in the cupboard below the bench for a mixing bowl.

“They suck,” was Sarah’s answer, getting a laugh from Kie.

“That seems to be the general consensus here,” replied Kiara, setting the bowl down on the counter as Sarah scanned the recipe card their teacher had handed out.

“Yeah, Kooks suck in general, but their kids, especially the uber rich ones who never get told no, they’re the real bad ones.”

Cooking with Sarah was fun. She had a good sense of humour and knew her way around a kitchen, something Kiara admired coming from a family of cooks.

The class flew by and before she knew it, the pair were walking through the parking lot with a warm box of cake.

“You’re coming to the Chateau, right?” Sarah asked.

They’d stopped in front of her white Range Rover which was parked near the front of the school. Kiara found it reminded her of the way Sharpay parked in the High School Musical movies and laughed to herself.

“Yeah, sure! If that's an offer?” she asked. There was nothing worse than outstaying your welcome.

Sarah smiled at her as she hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Sure is!”

Arriving at the Chateau a few minutes after Sarah, Kiara walked inside to find the Pogues standing in the kitchen watching the chaos unfold in front of them. Sarah appeared to be in the middle of an argument with JJ.

“I said wait, asshole!” She shouted, giving him a gentle shove backwards.

JJ bumped into the fridge and mocked real injury, sliding to the floor dramatically.

“Did you see that?,” he asked Pope and John B incredulously.

The other two boys were watching with smiles on their faces, Pope was sat on the kitchen counter, next to the box of cake, who’s lid had been taken off. John B was patting JJ on the head with the air of someone who was used to his friend’s antics.

“Get up, idiot,” he said, hauling JJ to his feet, “she did say wait for Kie. Oh, hey Kie!,” John B called to her as she made her way through the living room to join them.

“Thank God,” JJ said, leaping towards the cupboard under the counter, “they made me wait for you, I thought I would die of starvation before you even left school.”

“Okay, drama queen,” said Pope, sliding off the bench to grab a knife from the drawer under him, “Sarah’s been here for a whole three minutes longer”.

That afternoon, Kiara returned home with a smile on her face and a light feeling in her chest. She hadn’t expected to find friends this quickly, especially not ones she would work so well with. The whole thing made her feel better about the move.

On the phone to Jen, Kiara filled her in about her first day at school.

“This JJ sounds cute,” said Jen with a mischievous tone.

“Okay, stop that immediately, I’m pretty sure he flirts with everything that moves,” Kiara said with a laugh, “he was flirting with the girl John B likes, I don’t think anything he did to me really counts”.

“Eh,” Jen said, “or he’s already in love with you and wants to make you jealous!”

“Stop!,” Kiara shouted at her phone.

**Author's Note:**

> this is an edited re upload of my old fic 'last great american dynasty' because i shouldn't upload fics i write at 2 am without re reading at least twice
> 
> come say hi on tumblr @simpforjiara  
> or check out my instagram @svaintz  
> <3


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